New Birth

The book proposes answers to questions many wonder about such as, what is the purpose of life and the human potential, and what happens after this life.

Most Christians believe that man is by nature sinful – following the rebellion/fall of Adam and Eve. According to traditional teachings, this condition can be remedied by accepting Jesus Christ as a personal savior and his sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins. This is said to reconcile us to God and cleanse us from all sin. The Bible, in the New Testament, indeed contains the teaching that man is saved by the death and blood of Jesus. While churches also usually teach that those who in this life have not accepted Jesus as their savior will eternally suffer in an ever-burning hell, the Scriptures are not quite as explicit – though they do speak about judgment.

Besides numerous passages speaking about being saved by Jesus’ death, there is also another thread or “gospel” running through the New Testament. It emphasises more of what Jesus taught and exhorted his followers to do, than what he did for them through his sacrificial death. Many passages speak about the Holy Spirit as the agent of transformation and creating the “new heart” predicted by Old Testament prophets. Jesus spoke about “New Birth” as a means of salvation and condition for entering the Kingdom of God. Other passages speak about Love of God shed abroad to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We are to follow the leading of the Spirit in order to be saved. God is more than happy to give us the Holy Spirit, but our effort and cooperation are also needed in working out our own salvation.

This book focuses on what is the New Birth, how we can be born again, what it means in this life, and what we can look forward to in the next life and in the Kingdom of God that Jesus so often spoke about when he came to the earth.

It is a well-established fact (though not accepted by all Christians) that the Bible is not a book wherein every word is inspired by God. It is not a book of science or history as such. It also combines multiple threads of thought from various ancient sources. It has gone through a complex process of document selection, compilation, editing and reediting, as well as translating – all this long after the time of Jesus and the original apostles. There is no doubt that the Bible is an inspired book which has changed countless lives over the span of its existence, and that it contains the essential message of salvation. However, it is not free from errors, interpolations, extrapolations, and biases of its contributors, editors, and translators who were all influenced by the time and culture they lived in.

Several years ago, I was led to another revelation – not as well known, but, I believe, worth considering. It is important to realize that all inspired knowledge is mediated knowledge – it comes from a higher source beyo...